Jamaine Punzalan

Vice President Sara Duterte arrives at the Senate on the second day of the impeachment trial on Tuesday, July 7, 2026. House prosecutors are set to present evidence on the 4th article of impeachment, which focuses on the death threats made by Duterte against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos,  and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, and other actions seen as inciting to sedition. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

VP Sara Impeachment

Adrian Ayalin

Harlene Delgado

Karen De Guzman

ABS-CBN News

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 960px; display: block;" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/178851763884920260218-vp-sara-duterte-presidency-MT5.jpg" style="width: 960px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="Vice President Sara Duterte at the Office of the Vice President (OVP) headquarters in Mandaluyong City on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File"><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align: left;">Vice President Sara Duterte at the Office of the Vice President (OVP) headquarters in Mandaluyong City on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA &mdash; A Quezon City court issued Friday a warrant of arrest against Vice President Sara Duterte for her grave threats case.&nbsp;</p><p>Duterte &ldquo;has no intention of evading the law&rdquo; and will exercise all her legal remedies, &ldquo;regardless of the question on jurisdiction,&rdquo; her lawyer Paul Lawrence Lim said in a statement.</p><p>The Vice President&rsquo;s lawyers &ldquo;intend to post bail ASAP&rdquo;, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla told ABS-CBN News.</p><p>The Department of Justice said the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 98 denied Duterte&#39;s motion to defer or recall the arrest warrant against her &ldquo;for lack of merit.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p><p>The DOJ noted that the court found probable cause to hold Duterte for trial on all three counts of grave threats and ordered the issuance of the warrant of arrest.&nbsp;</p><p>&ldquo;The Department respects the Court&rsquo;s ruling and reaffirms its commitment to the rule of law,&rdquo; said DOJ spokesperson Atty. Polo Martinez.&nbsp;</p><p>Martinez also clarified that there was no earlier warrant issued against the Vice President. He noted that the motion to &ldquo;defer or recall&rdquo; was &ldquo;purely semantics.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;There is only one warrant and that is the warrant issued today,&rdquo; Martinez said.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/8/13/claire-castro-sees-element-of-inciting-to-sedition-in-sara-duterte-s-grave-threats-case-1841">Claire Castro sees &lsquo;element of inciting to sedition&rsquo; in Sara Duterte&rsquo;s &lsquo;grave threats&rsquo; case&nbsp;</a></div><div><br></div><div><strong>IMMUNITY?</strong><strong>&nbsp;</strong></div><p>Asked about the position of the DOJ on the supposed immunity from suit of the Vice President, Martinez said immunity is only extended to the President.</p><p>&ldquo;The DOJ&#39;s position is that presidential immunity is lodged solely in the president as chief executive, which is why the DOJ filed the case against the accused,&rdquo; Martinez said.</p><p>The case stemmed from Duterte&#39;s statement in an online briefing that she had arranged for President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez to be killed should she be assassinated first.</p><p>She has since said her remarks were taken out of context.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/13/nbi-exec-jeremy-lotoc-testifies-before-senate-impeachment-court-1514">NBI exec says Duterte&#39;s alleged grave threats &#39;serious and real&#39;&nbsp;</a></div><div><br></div><div><strong>JURISDICTION</strong></div><p>Duterte&rsquo;s camp earlier sought to dismiss the grave threats cases citing lack of jurisdiction.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/8/14/sara-duterte-s-camp-denies-issuing-threat-over-move-to-dismiss-grave-threats-raps-1845">Sara Duterte&rsquo;s camp denies issuing threat over move to dismiss grave threats raps</a></div><p>&ldquo;Ang sa &#39;ming pananaw kasi &lsquo;yung ating bise presidente ay isang impeachable officer. Sa Constitution kasi may tinatawag na opisyal na pwede lamang matanggal sa kanilang posisyon sa pamamagitan ng impeachment,&rdquo; Lim previously said.</p><p>&ldquo;At dahil sila ay impeachable officer, hindi dapat sila kinakakasuhan ng kasong kriminal katulad ng sinampa sa ating bise presidente,&rdquo; he added.</p><p>The alleged assassination threat also forms a crucial element of her ongoing Senate impeachment trial, where a guilty verdict would see her removed from office and permanently banned from politics.</p><p>Under the Philippine legal code, a criminal conviction on the charge would carry a jail term of up to six months.</p><p>Paolo Tamase, associate dean at the University of the Philippines College of Law, told AFP that Duterte&#39;s lawyers could now be expected to file for bail, perhaps before day&#39;s end.</p><p>&quot;The easiest thing for VP Sara to do is to file for bail with the regional trial court,&quot; Tamase said in a phone interview, noting Duterte would likely not need to be present.</p><p>He added that the warrant could yet be challenged at a higher court.</p><p>&quot;She can potentially question the issuance of the warrant of arrest, which means she would go up to the Court of Appeals or potentially the Supreme Court,&quot; he said.</p><p>Meanwhile, the Palace said it respects the court order.</p><p>&ldquo;Ginagalang ng Palasyo ang anumang desision o kautusan ng korte,&rdquo; Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said.</p><div><em></em><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/9/3/sara-duterte-trial-may-continue-into-2027-impeachment-court-spox-says-1445">Sara Duterte trial may continue into 2027, impeachment court spox says</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/23/poa-duterte-has-never-been-violent-1152">&lsquo;She&rsquo;s never been violent&rsquo;: Poa says Duterte is not &lsquo;what she is being portrayed as&rsquo;&nbsp;</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/14/defense-plays-more-clips-from-2024-duterte-video-in-lotoc-cross-examination-1559">Defense plays more clips from 2024 Duterte video in Lotoc cross-examination</a></div><div><br></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><strong><em></em></strong></div><div><strong><em><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="960" height="540" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/t_i8eSRhWI4?&wmode=opaque&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></em></strong></div><div><em>&nbsp;</em></div><div><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></div>

<p>A Quezon City court issued Friday a warrant of arrest against Vice President Sara Duterte for her grave threats case.</p>

A Quezon City court issued Friday a warrant of arrest against Vice President Sara Duterte for her grave threats case.

Sara Duterte faces arrest warrant for grave threats case

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Sara Duterte faces arrest warrant for grave threats case

Jamaine Punzalan,

Adrian Ayalin,

Harlene Delgado,

Karen De Guzman,

ABS-CBN News,

Agence France-Presse

Published September 04, 2026 02:42 PM PHT

|

Updated September 04, 2026 06:29 PM PHT

Read More:

Sara Duterte

warrant of arrest

arrest warrant

grave threats

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